Milwaukee police union lawsuit threatened; service weapon concerns

Milwaukee police union threatens lawsuit over service weapon concerns

There are concerns about the service weapon used by Milwaukee police officers -- and now, the Milwaukee Police Association is threatening a lawsuit over those concerns.

MILWAUKEE - Officials with the Milwaukee Police Association (MPA) say they expect to file a lawsuit against the city over the department's service weapon – after several unintended discharges.

The Milwaukee Police Department switched to a SIG Sauer P320 9mm duty weapon in 2019. In 2021, the MPA let the city know it intended to file a lawsuit after several discharges happened – including one that injured an officer in July 2020.

Another Milwaukee police officer was injured this past weekend when his partner's holstered gun went off -- hitting him in the leg.

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The MPA says it wants the city to replace the weapon.

Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson said Monday his chief concern is Milwaukee officers' safety, he wasn't aware of the MPA's notice of claim and intends to discuss the matter with MPD Chief Jeffrey Norman at a meeting later this week.

"I’m confident the Milwaukee Police Department will be looking into this, investigating this," Johnson said. "I want to see recommendations from police that have the safety of police officers, front and center, that is what I think the most important thing is."

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FOX6 News has also reached out to the city attorney's office for reaction to this potential move.

A number of lawsuits have been filed against Sig Sauer in other parts of the country for similar incidents of unintended discharges of the P320 model. A message to Sig Sauer seeking comment was not immediately returned.

This is a developing story.